Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy by Hope Callaghan Page A

Gloria started to get up, but then paused.  She wondered if Ruth would answer.
    When the doorbell chimed a second time, she knew the answer was “no.”  Then she remembered the earplugs.  She nudged Mally from the footrest and set Puddles on the floor.
    She could see a young face at the kitchen door, peering in.  Ruth still didn’t budge.  Even when Gloria opened the door, set the pizza on the table and handed the young man a $20 bill.  “You can keep the change,” she told him. 
    “Thanks.”  He grinned and revealed a dimpled chin.  “I better get going.  I got a few more pies to drop off.” He didn’t wait for a reply as he bounded down the steps and back to the beat up pick-up truck that he had left running.
    Gloria glanced at the computer screen as she passed by the table on her way to the cupboard to grab a couple paper plates.  The inside of the post office was empty.  She looked at the clock.  That’s because it was closed!
    She pulled the ear bud from Ruth’s ear.  “Pizza’s here.”
    Ruth jumped.  “Oh, yeah.”  She noticed the pizza box on the table.  “Wow, I didn’t even know it was here.”
    She pulled the buds from her ear and closed the lid on the computer. She set both in the chair beside her.
    Gloria reached into the fridge and grabbed a Diet Coke.  “Want one?”
    Ruth nodded.  “Sure. I love Diet Coke.”
    Gloria grabbed a second one, set the sodas on the table and pulled out a chair.   She opened the lid on the pizza box and handed a plate to Ruth. 
    “What kind is this?” Ruth didn’t wait for a reply.  She grabbed a slice of pepperoni with extra cheese and three chicken wings.  She took a bite of pizza and turned to Gloria.  “How did you know pepperoni pizza was my favorite?”
    Gloria grinned. She grabbed a slice of ham and mushroom.  “Just a wild guess.”  She popped a mushroom in her mouth and nodded at the closed computer.  “The post office was closed and you were still watching it…”
    Ruth nibbled on the edge of a wing.  “Mmm…spicy even.” She peeled a piece of meat off and popped it in her mouth.  “I was just about to close the cover on it, right after that Sharon lady locked the front door, but something told me not to.  So I waited.”
    Gloria leaned forward.  This was right up her alley!  “And?”
    “I heard a noise.  You know, like a doorknob rattling.”
    “Did someone go inside?” Gloria bit into her pizza.
    Ruth nodded.  “I could hear footsteps but the dang camera is turned the wrong way.  Whoever it was - was out of view.  Like they somehow knew about the camera.”
    Ruth went on.  “Then I could hear thumps.  Not like pounding thumps but more of a…”
    Ruth’s eyes shot up.  She stared at the ceiling.  “The kind of noise you would hear if boxes were being tossed around.”
    Gloria set her half-eaten piece of pizza on the plate.  “Why didn’t you come get me?” she demanded.  “We could’ve jumped in the car and gone down there.  Maybe even caught the criminal red-handed.”
    Ruth’s face grew grim. She leaned forward.  “I started to get up to do just that and then I heard the door slam and it was silent.”
    She shook her head and grabbed another wing.  “Something or someone spooked them and they left in a big hurry!”
    Gloria took a big swig of Diet Coke and slammed the can down on the table.  “Sounds like it’s time for a stakeout!” she announced.
     

Chapter 4
     
    Gloria spent the next morning sorting through boxes of trinkets and bags of clothes in the bedrooms.  There was so much to get rid of, it was a bit overwhelming.  She spent a good part of her morning filling bag after bag. 
    In the back of her mind, she knew she would have to sort through all the stuff and tag it.  When she got to the tenth trash bag, it was time to stop.  One more bag and she’d be trapped upstairs.  The doorway at the bottom of the stairs was partially blocked from all the bags she’d